JTO,
The ammo so freely being converted into empty cases is still (
afaik) bought on the tonka budget. No money in the typhoon fleet for tyres nevermind such stuff as ammo.
None provisioned for typhoon, no firing maintenance spares for the guns, no manpower for the post firing maint, no gunbay(s) equipped for post firing etc etc ...
'only going to be ballast' was the term in use, therefore strip and regrease only to maintain airworthiness. Too expensive to build ballast blocks and get them certified.
And as for the way it gets loaded ......
Still, thats all 'old' info - might have changed in the 3 months I've become happier, but I doubt it.